Eight persons were in the early hours of Thursday reportedly killed by herdsmen in separate attacks in Benue State.
The herdsmen allegedly killed six persons in Iye, Uvir council ward, while another two were murdered in the Yelwata area, both in the Guma Local Government Area of the state.
The Security Adviser to the Governor, Col Paul Hemba (retd.), and the local government chairman, Caleb Aba, confirmed the attacks, but gave different casualty figures.
While Hemba claimed that eight persons were killed in the attacks, Aba claimed that six victims were recorded.
“Six persons were killed in Iye village along the Daudu/Gbamjinba Road. It happened in the early hours of this morning (Thursday) at branch Udeyen. Close to the water in Yelwata, two other persons were killed,” Hemba stated.
Aba, on his part, said, “Four persons were killed at Iye in the Uvir council ward and two more were killed around the Yelwata area.
“One cannot explain the reasons for these renewed killings because there was no provocation at all. The herders just came, attacked the people and ran back to Nasarawa State.
“The latest attacks happened in the early hours of today (Thursday), between 3am and 4am.”
The local government boss said the military had been informed of the incidents.
He appealed to the Federal Government and the security agencies to increase surveillance in the area, and charged the residents to be more security conscious.
“They (residents) should be on the watch out and report suspicious movements to relevant authorities,” he added.
As of the time of filing this report, efforts to get the reaction of the state police command spokesperson, SP Catherine Anene, were not successful as calls made to her mobile phone rang out.A body sanitizer, which was meant to spray people as they walk into the White House section, has been removed.
